Players who regularly play gaming machines quickly tire of particular games and therefore it is necessary for manufacturers of these machines to develop innovative game features which add interest and variety to the games. In so doing, it is hoped to keep players amused and therefore willing to continue playing different varieties of games as well as to attract new players. Gaming machines of the type described are particularly well known nationally and internationally.
Substantial amounts of money are wagered on these machines. In the state of NSW and other states of Australia, there is a growing tendency to legalise the use of gaming machines by licensing operators with resulting revenue gains being achieved through license fees and taxation of moneys invested. The licensed operation of gaming machines is the subject of state legislation and regulation. Amongst the items regulated is the minimum percentage payout for a gaming machine. For example, a minimum of 85% of monies invested must be returned as winnings and manufacturers of gaming machines must therefore design their machines around these regulatory controls. Therefore, the options available to a gaming machine manufacturer are limited by the gaming regulations of the applicable jurisdiction and by requiring the gaming machine provide a particular return to player.
Various gaming machines incorporating prize ladders having a progression of increasing cash prizes terminating in a maximum prize, such as a progressive cash pot, are known. A player starts with the lowest prize and progression up the ladder continues for as long as the player wins the intervening games between the prizes on the ladder. As soon as there is a loss, the player exits the prize ladder feature and is awarded the prize on or below the level currently occupied. In some cases, the player may be given the choice as to whether he or she wants to claim the current prize or to attempt to advance to the next level, with a failed attempt resulting in the player either not winning a prize at all or winning a prize lower down on the ladder.
When designing a game having a ladder format, the mean return to player is determined and the prizes and probabilities of occurrence are then calculated so as to achieve the required return to player. This requirement results in there being relatively little flexibility in the way that standard ladder formats can be implemented and a limited opportunity for extended play in a game having a ladder format. In particular, standard ladder formats involving games with a 50:50 outcome are relatively inflexible, in that if the prizes on the ladder increase too quickly, by doubling or nearly doubling in value, the ladder will be too short, whilst if the prizes increase too slowly the player will not be getting an attractive return commensurate with the odds of the intervening games. The restriction on the number of prizes and incremental values in a ladder format therefore restricts the ability of gaming machine designers and manufacturers ability to implement new games.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome or alleviate at least one of the aforementioned problems in gaming machines at present, or at least to provide the public with a useful alternative.